1905.] 



Slugs and Snails. 



653 



between August and November ; they are laid in heaps in the 

 ground or sometimes on the ground ; generally they hatch in 

 from twenty- one to twenty-five days, but a few may remain 

 undeveloped until the spring. These little snails hibernate in 

 all manner of places, being especially fond of ivy-covered walls. 

 Where strawberries have been attacked the snails frequently 

 shelter during the day under the straw put between the rows. 



(5). The Small Banded Snail {Helix virgata. Da Costa). 



During 1894 this snail was observed to do much harm in 

 Kent and in many other parts of Britain. It causes consider- 

 able loss amongst root crops and has been known to damage 

 grass lands. In one attack on the farm belonging to the 

 South- Eastern Agricultural College, this snail was observed to 

 come down in great numbers from the Downs during wet 

 weather, when it attacked and did much damage to mustard,, 

 as well as to wheat. It is an extremely abundant species and 

 is gregarious, and may often be seen swarming over herbs and 

 bushes in wet weather. In dry weather it retires and hides, 

 amongst rough herbage, &c, where it remains until rains come. 

 In dry weather I have seen this snail blown about by the wind! 

 and rolled along " down sides," and on sand dunes . quite a 

 distance. It is at times a very ravenous feeder. The idea still 

 exists in some parts of England that this snail imparts a fine 

 flavour to mutton, and is a nutritious food for sheep. 



The shell is conical, with a broad and convex base, creamy- 

 white or white with a single purplish-brown band above the 

 periphery, and sometimes as many as six or seven below it,, 

 more often two or three. Now and then the dark bands are 

 broken so as to make the shells appear spotted ; there are six 

 whorls, the last equalling half the shell ; the mouth is purplish, 

 inside, with a strong rib, sometimes purple, at other times white. 

 'The body of the snail is dusky grey, with coarse tubercles ; the 

 mantle is dark violet, speckled with white and brown. 



The eggs are laid from September to December in clusters of 

 three or four amongst the herbage or in crevices. The small 

 banded snail seems to care little for the cold, for it has been 

 found active in mid-winter. In very cold weather it merely 

 forms a thin: glassy epiphragm, which it may also do in very 



